Irrigation Engineering
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IRRIGATION ENGINEERING IRRIGATION ENGINEERING Editor R.N. Reddy ff:d GENE TECH 2010 Gene-Tech Books New Delhi - 110 002 2010, © Publisher InformatlOlJ contall1cd in tillS work has been published by Gene-Tech Books and has been obtamed by Its allthor(s)/editor(s) from sOllrces belzeved to be reliable and are correct to the best of their knowledge. However, the publisher and its autllOr(s) make no representation of warranties with respect of aCCllracy or completeness of the contents of this book, and shall 111 no event be lzable for any efrors, omissIOns or damages arzsing out of use of tillS l1l/omzatlOn and specifically disclaim any implied warranties or merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose. All riglzts resaved. Including the rigllt to trallslate or to reproduce tillS book or parts thereof except for brief quotatIOns in entzcal reviews. ISBN 81-89729-98-5 ISBN 978-81-89729-98-1 Published by GENE-TECH BOOKS 4762-63/23, Ansari Road, Darya Ganj, NEW DELHI - 110 002 Phone: 41562849 e-mail: [email protected] Printed at Chawla Offset Printers New Delhi - 110 052 PRINTED IN INDIA Preface Irrigation involves the artificial application of water to soil, usually for assisting the growth of crops in dry areas or where there is a shortage of rainfall. As the process of agriculture becomes increasingly mechanised, the application of scientific methods and technology to the procedure of irrigation comes as no surprise. With agricultural yields dwindling and demand for food increasing, the pressure on agriculture is immense and no stone is to be left unturned in meeting demands and expectations. Effective irrigation, enhanced pertinent technologies, thereby provides a most lucrative source for making agriculture profitable and worthwhile. This text has been written as a manual guiding agricultural engineers on the principles and concepts which define irrigation engineering. Elaborating upon the tools, technologies and techniques which are essential to the field, the text takes a look at the types of irrigation, including surface, localised and sprinkler systems, and how they are changing agriculture itself by making it more scientific. In addition to it the challenges faced by irrigation systems including those of entrophication, water pollution, depletion of underground aquifers, etc., are also discussed. Current trends and development have been analysed as well as the future prospects and opportunities. RN. Reddy Contents Preface v 1. Importance of Irrigation Engineering 1 2. Estimation of Irrigation Demand 35 3. Irrigation Schemes and Methods 47 4. Modern Canal Operation Techniques 71 5. Design of On-demand Irrigation Systems 111 6. Mapping Water Networks 125 7. Drainage Pipes and Accessories 143 8. Drainage and Disposal Systems 179 9. Surface and Subsurface Drainage 201 10. Installation and Maintenance of Drainage Materials 239 11. Evaluation of Irrigation Project 255 Bibliography 269 Index 271 1 Importance of Irrigation Engineering Irrigation involves artificially providing crops with water. This technique is used in farming to enable plants to grow when there is not enough rain, particularly in arid areas. It is also used in less arid regions to provide plants with the water they need when seed setting. About 66% of the world's water catchment is used in farming, which continues to make increasing use of irrigation. But in most irrigation systems 50 to 60% of the water used does not benefit the plants. It is therefore necessary to set up more carefully designed irrigation schemes that ensure optimum agricultural production while preserving this resource. The choice of irrigation method depends on the type of crop and economic context. For small areas a network of open channels providing water by gravity remains the least costly and simplest solution. More sophisticated modem techniques can reduce water consumption: drip irrigation delivers the water at the plants' roots and sprinkler irrigation sprays it over the crop. For the survival of the country, there is an urgent need to implement and plan irrigation strategies for now, and in future, as the population continues to grow. But that should not be at the cost of degradation of the present available resources of land and water, which means the lIatural resources that we have, should more or less remain the same after 50 or 100 years and beyond. In many regions of India, 2 Irrigation Engineering there has been alarming withdrawal of ground water for meeting demands of irrigation and drinking water demand than that which can be naturally recharged. This has led to rise of further problems like arsenic and fluoride contamination. Since ground water recharge by natural means takes a long time, perhaps years and even decades, there is little hope of regaining the depleted table near future. The total geographical area of land in India is about 329 million hectare (M-ha), which is 2.45% of the global land area. The total arable land, according to an estimate made by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAa), made available through the web-site Aquastat, is about 165.3 M-ha which is about 50.2 % of the total geographical area. India possesses 4% of the total average annual run off in the rivers of the world. The per capita water availability of natural run off is at least 1100 cubic meters/yr. The utilisable surface water potential of India has been estimated to be 1869 cubic kms but the amount of water that can actually be to put to beneficial use is much less due to severe limitations imposed 'by physiographic, topographic, interstate issues and the present technology to harness water resources economically. The recent estimates made by the Central Water Commission indicate that the water resources utilisable through surface structures is about 690 cubic kms only (about 36% of the total ground water is another important source of water). Ground water is another important source of water. The quantum of water that can be extracted economically from the ground water aquifers every year is generally known as ground water potential. The preliminary estimates made by the Central Ground Water Board indicate that the utilisable ground water is about 432 cubic km.thus the total utilisable water resource is estimated to 1122 cubic km. It must be remembered that this amount of water is unequally spread over the entire length and breadth of the country. Of the total 329 M-ha of land, it is estimated that only 266 M-ha possess potential for production. Of this, 143 M-ha is agricultural land. It is estimated that 85 M-ha uf land suffers from varying Importance of Irrigation Engineering 3 degrees of soil degradation. Of the remaining 123 M-ha, 40 M ha is completely unproductive. The balance 83 M-ha is classified as forest land, of which over half is denuded to various degrees. It is alarming to note that the percapita availability of land is half of what it used to be same 35 years ago. This would further reduce as our country's population continuous to grow. At present 141 M-ha of land is being used for cultivation purposes. Between 1970-71 and 1987-88 the average net sown area has been 140.4 M-ha. The need for production of food, fodder, fibre, fuel in the crop growing areas have to compete with the growing space require for urbanisation. The factors of land degradation, like water logging, salinity, alkalinity and erosion of soils on account of inadequate planning and inefficient management of water resources projects will severely constrain the growth of net sown area in the future. BENEFITS OF IRRIGATION With the introduction of irrigation, there have been many advantages, as compared to the total dependence on rainfall. These may be enumerated as under: Increase in crop yield: the production of almost all types of crops can be increased by providing the right amount of later at the right time, depending on its shape of growth. Such a controlled supply of water is possible only through irrigation. Protection from famine: the availability of irrigation facilities in any region ensures protection against failure of crops or famine due to drought. In regions without irrigation, farmers have to depend only on rains for growing crops and since the rains may not provide enough rainfall required for crop growing every year, the farmers are always faced with a risk. Cultivation of superior crops: with assured supply of water for irrigation, farmers may think of cultivating superior variety of crops or even other crops which yield high return. Production of these crops in rain-fed 4 Irrigation Engineering areas is not possible because even with the slight unavailability of timely water, these crops would die and all the money invested would be wasted. Elimination of mixed cropping: in rain-fed areas, farmers have a tendency to cultivate more than one type of crop in the same field such that even if one dies without the required amount of water, at least he would get the yield of the other. However, this reduces the overall production of the field. With assured water by irrigation, the farmer would go for only a single variety of crop in one field at anytime, which would increase the yield. Economic development: with assured irrigation, the farmers get higher returns by way of crop production throughout the year, the government in turn, benefits from the tax collected from the farmers in base of the irrigation facilities extended. Hydro power generation: usually, in canal system of irrigation, there are drops or differences in elevation of canal bed level at certain places. Although the drop may not be very high, this difference in elevation can be used successfully to generate electricity. Such small hydro electric generation projects, using bulb-turbines have been established in many canals, like Ganga canal, Sarada canal, Yamuna canal etc.